Acid Hydrolysis Of Biomass Research Articles

Renewable Carbohydrates: Advancements in Sustainable Glucose Production and Optimization

This study explores and optimizes glucose production through various biochemical processes and assesses the potential of diverse feedstock sources to meet the growing demand for renewable carbohydrates. It focuses on glucose production's significance in biological systems and industrial applications, analyzing pathways like enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides and acid hydrolysis of biomass. The kinetics of glucose production are examined, encompassing kinetic models for enzymatic hydrolysis, acid hydrolysis, and fermentation processes. Factors influencing reaction kinetics are explored, and experimental techniques for kinetic parameter estimation are discussed. To address sustainability and resource utilization challenges, the study investigates locally sourced materials like agricultural residues, forest biomass, algal biomass, and food waste as renewable feedstock sources. Optimization strategies for glucose production are presented, using statistical design of experiments and response surface methodology. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessments provide a holistic evaluation of environmental and economic aspects associated with glucose production processes. The study's comprehensive approach to glucose production, encompassing both technological advancements and sustainability considerations, offers insights into enzymatic, acid hydrolysis, and fermentation processes, as well as comparing diverse feedstock sources. This knowledge can foster further advancements in the field, benefit industries, and encourage policymakers to promote the integration of renewable carbohydrates in the broader bioeconomy. The research contributes to the global shift towards a greener and more sustainable future, where glucose production plays a key role in building a resilient and eco-conscious society.

Synthesis of furoic acid from biomasses by sequential catalysis with fish scale-rice husk-based heterogeneous chemocatalyst and dehydrogenase biocatalyst

In this work, furfural was effectively converted to furoic acid (FCA) by using biological macromolecules as raw materials in tandem reaction with chemical biological catalysts. Firstly, a biochar-based heterogeneous catalyst Sn-FS-RH was prepared using equal mass of fish scale (FS) and rice husk (RH) as carriers. Different biomasses (such as poplar wood, winter bamboo shoot shell, corn cob, corn straw, reed leaf, peanut shell, rape straw, and potato shell) were transformed into furfural with Sn-FS-RH in deep eutectic solvent choline chloride:Maleic acid (ChCl:MLA)-H2O (10:90, v/v; 170 °C), and the furfural yield from corn cob-derived xylose reached the highest (70.5% yield, based on xylose) after 15 min of catalysis. The mechanism of Sn-FS-RH-catalyzed the transformation of lignocellulose to furfural was interpreted in ChCl:MLA-H2O. One liter of xylose-hydrolysate was obtained after acid hydrolysis of biomass. The preparation of FUR was generally carried out in a 10 liter of autoclave reactor containing 75 g biomass, 36 g Sn-FS-RH catalyst, 100 g ChCl:MLA, and 20 g ZnCl2. The reactor was stirred at 170 ℃ for 15 min at 500 rpm. It was observed that the by-products (formic acid, levulinic acid, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) formed in the transformation of lignocellulose to furfural had somewhat inhibitory effect on the formation of furoic acid from furfural bioconversion. After 24–72 h, Escherichia coli HMFOMUT cells containing dehydrogenase could transform fully furfural derived from different biomass (30–90 mM) into furoic acid. This two-step chemoenzymatic strategy was an efficient way to transform biomacromolecules into biofurans in a sustainable medium.

ALTERNATIVES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF LEVULINIC ACID OBTAINED FROM BIOMASS

Levulinic acid is a reactive polar organic compound deemed as a building block for several products with relevant applications, replacing traditional substances in the petrochemical industry. Considered a platform molecule, levulinic acid is industrially produced from the acid hydrolysis of biomass – mainly plant-based – using hydrochloric or sulfuric acid in homogenous catalysis. However, considering the World Market for levulinic acid is expected to reach US$ 71.9 million in 2027, growing annually at 14.1%, and its applications in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, cosmetics, and food additives, the development of alternative production processes is sought. Hence, a survey was performed on publications considering the alternatives for biomass-based levulinic acid production processes: I) alternative homogenous catalysts to avoid using noble materials in the reactor; II) heterogeneous catalysis to facilitate and reduce the catalyst’s separation and recovery costs; III) ionic liquids, exploiting their high solvency, stability, and catalytic capacity. Additionally, biomass alternatives for obtaining levulinic acid are presented, showing that other agricultural residues and animal biomass options are being considered, targeting process flexibilization while reducing costs and producing derivatives at more competitive prices. Thus, it can be stated that levulinic acid is an important platform molecule for biorefineries’ economics, replacing fossil fuels with renewable raw materials.

Sustainability of Ageratum conyzoides (billy goat weed) for bioethanol and recycling of residues for gaseous fuel production

AbstractAgeratum conyzoides, an herb found throughout the year, is generally considered as a weed: it causes reduction in soil productivity and leads to health hazards for cattle and humans. However, its biomass can easily represent a cost‐effective source, which can be used for lignocellulosic biofuel production. The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol has drawn much attention in recent times due to abundance of biomass. In the present study, the cellulose and hemicellulose biomass of the leaf and stem of A. conyzoides was converted to sugars using acid hydrolysis.146.01 ± 02 mg/g of fermentable sugar was obtained from A. conyzoides. The maximum ethanol concentration 11.89 g/L was obtained after 7 days. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the surface morphology after acid hydrolysis of biomass. In the current study, the residues of acid hydrolysis and fermented wastewater was used for biogas production through anaerobic digestion. The yield of biogas from the residues of acid hydrolysis and fermented wastewater was 204 L kg−1VS. The results obtained indicate that A. conyzoides may be considered as a promising feedstock for bioethanol and biogas production.

Multi-objective optimization of intensified processes for the purification of levulinic acid involving economic and environmental objectives. Part II: A comparative study of dynamic properties

In the continuous search for the improvement of processes, recently, alternative schemes have been proposed to separate and purify levulinic acid produced from the acid hydrolysis of biomass. These alternatives offer both energy and economic savings, and reduction of environmental impact; however, their control properties have not been considered for possible industrial implementation. In this work, a controllability analysis was carried out of previously optimized designs using the relative gain array (RGA), the total condition number (TCN) and a sensitivity index for performance assessment in open-loop. Finally, the dynamic performance in closed-loop is evaluated using PI controllers having as criteria the integral absolute error (IAE). Through analysis, the best scheme obtained presented a low total condition number, however, its sensitivity index is below the average of all the designs analyzed. Additionally, the RGA analysis shows a stable structure in the frequencies studied keeping low values of eco-indicators 99 and total annual cost. The general topology consists of a liquid-liquid extraction column, a conventional distillation column and a dividing wall column with a decanter. On the other hand, by means of this robust analysis of the control properties was proposed some guidelines between the structure for improving control properties in intensified distillation schemes.

Simulation and Feasibility Evaluation of a Tipical Levulinic Acid (la) Plant Using Biomass as Substrate.

Several problems has been worried the world population when it comes to sustainability subject. The imminent depletion of fossil fuels and the lack of alternatives to replace compounds produced by oil also add to this account . Countries that have their economy based on agribusiness (like Brazil) have a slight advantage in this scenario since naturally much of biomass is lost in the environment until the final product exportation takes place. It means that such biomass can be used in the production of several alternative fuels and other basic chemicals such as second-generation bioethanol and levulinic acid, diminishing the reliance on oil. This last one is a promising building block molecule an organic compound, intermediate in the synthesis of various chemical compounds for additives of fluids, fragrances, oils, plastics among others. Thus, in the present work, a complete simulation of levulinic acid production process from the acid hydrolysis of biomass (it was used sugarcane bagasses as an example) was conducted to produce 8 kilotons of levulinic acid per year (with high concentration of the final product (99,6 wt %)). Specifically, a generic large scale levulinic acid plant was performed using ASPEN PLUS® V.7.3. The main goal was to evaluate feasibility of the overall process using a typical production value based on actual plants (more specifically the Caserta plant, located in Italy). Despite of similarity of another works presented in open literature, a detailed discussion from the data obtained was carried out. Furthermore, a formic acid separation from water was fulfilled using activated charcoal adsorption become the whole process more sustainable in the near future.

A Greener Olefination Process to Produce Alkenoic Acids from Levulinic Acid

Levulinic acid (LA) is a bifunctional compound with high reactivity that can be produced by acid hydrolysis of biomass. Its ketone group can be functionalized to an olefinic bond via Wittig reaction. However, this reactional system usually involves multiple steps and uses highly toxic raw materials. This study aims to produce alkenoic acids derived from LA via Wittig reaction using a greener process. For this, we evaluated the olefination of LA in the presence of different bases (NaHCO3, Na2CO3, and NaOH) and isopropanol as solvent (reduced toxicity). The products were identified by mass spectrometry, observing positive results for NaHCO3. The fragmentation mechanisms for the alkenoic acid ions (4-methyl-hex-4-enoic acid, m/z 127, and 4-methyl-hept-4-enoic acid, m/z 141) confirmed their production by the proposed process.

Semi-quantitative and qualitative XRF analyses of alternative and renewable second-generation solid biofuels: Model development and validation

New analytical laboratory tools for qualitative analysis of alternative and renewable solid biofuels have been developed. The primary target of this research was to develop and then validate a rapid method for semi-quantitative and qualitative analyses of the second-generation solid biofuels. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) was used in combination with a two-step, multivariate modelling procedure. First, soft independent modelling of class analogies (SIMCA) and classification and regression trees (C&RT) were applied to develop and validate the classifier, which enabled different biomass origins (agrarian biomass, forest biomass and furniture waste) and different possible sources of contamination (plastic, fossil fuels and lignin-cellulose after biomass acid hydrolysis) to be distinguished. Next, the model attempted to predict the concentration of individual components using partial least-squares regression (PLSR) models. In our study, we compared C&RT and SIMCA, and the classification models (algorithms) constructed by the C&RT method were characterised as having better properties than those based on SIMCA. The C&RT classification algorithm was able to predict the origin of biomass sources with a non-error rate greater than 95%. For predictions of the addition type, the non-error rate was greater than 91%. The developed methods can rapidly and adequately determine (qualitatively) the origin of biofuels and indicate possible sources of contamination.

Valorization of humins by phosphoric acid activation for activated carbon production

Humins, the solid wastes from biomass acid hydrolysis, were value-added applied for activated carbon production through the phosphoric acid activation method with pyrolysis temperature ranging from 300 to 700 °C. Studies on structure and properties found that pyrolysis temperature is a key factor affecting pore formation of activated carbons. A good yield of 51.4 wt%, high BET surface area of 2375 m2/g, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore volume of 0.88 cm3/g, and an excellent Langmuir adsorption capacity of 1125 mg/g on methylene blue (MB) were obtained under the preferred temperature of 400 °C (AC400). The adsorption of MB was well explained by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the adsorption behavior complied with Langmuir isotherm model. Dichloromethane (DCM) was found a most effective extractant in AC400 regeneration by using Soxhlet apparatus. A comparable adsorption capacity of 680 mg/g MB was maintained for the fifth reusing of the AC400, illustrating the application potential of humins valorization for biomass residues recycling industry.

Production of furfural from palm oil empty fruit bunches: kinetic model comparation

Furfural is a chemical compound that can be applied to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, resins and cleaning compound which can be produced by acid hydrolysis of biomass. Indonesia’s demand for furfural in 2010 reached 790 tons that still imported mostly 72% from China. In this study, reaction kinetic models of furfural production from oil palm empty fruit bunches with submitting acid catalyst at the beginning of the experiment will be determine. Kinetic data will be obtained from hydrolysis of empty oil palm bunches using sulfuric acid catalyst 3% at temperature 170°C, 180°C and 190°C for 20 minutes. From this study, the kinetic model to describe the production of furfural is the kinetic model where generally hydrolysis reaction with an acid catalyst in hemicellulose and furfural will produce the same decomposition product which is formic acid with different reaction pathways. The activation energy obtained for the formation of furfural, the formation of decomposition products from furfural and the formation of decomposition products from hemicellulose is 8.240 kJ/mol, 19.912 kJ/mol and -39.267 kJ / mol.

Conversion of levulinic acid into γ-valerolactone using Fe3(CO)12: mimicking a biorefinery setting by exploiting crude liquors from biomass acid hydrolysis.

The conversion of biomass-derived levulinic acid (LA) into gamma-valerolactone (GVL) using formic acid (FA) and Fe3(CO)12 as the catalyst precursor was achieved in 92% yield. To mimic a biorefinery setting, crude liquor (containing 20% LA) from the acid hydrolysis of sugarcane biomass in a pilot plant facility was directly converted into GVL in good yield (50%), without the need for isolating LA.

Processing of Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced with Polysaccharide Nanocrystals

Aqueous suspensions of polysaccharide (cellulose, chitin or starch) nanocrystals can be prepared by acid hydrolysis of biomass. The main problem with their practical use is related to the homogeneous dispersion of these nanoparticles within a polymeric matrix. Water is the preferred processing medium. A new and interesting way for the processing of polysaccharide nanocrystals-based nanocomposites is their transformation into a co-continuous material through long chain surface chemical modification. It involves the surface chemical modification of the nanoparticles based on the use of grafting agents bearing a reactive end group and a long compatibilizing tail.

MICROWAVES EFFECT OVER BIOMASS HYDROLYSIS

Changing fuel consumption to a more ecological environmentally alternative is replacing fossil fuels with fuels generated from renewable resources. Ethanol, a renewable fuel, can be produced mainly from crops, lignocellulosic biomass and different other environmental wastes. Although ethanol has been produced mainly from crops, there is a great interest in using cheaper lignocellulosic materials as a feedstock for ethanol production. The aim of this paper is study of dilute acid hydrolysis of different types of biomass using the microwaves radiation. Acid hydrolysis of biomass will be accomplished in a speedwave TMMVS-2 system, at 130-170 C, for 35 minutes, at high pressure. Dilute-acid hydrolysis is a cheap and fast process to obtain sugar from lignocelluloses materials. The suggested method offers multiple advantages: an important decrease of energy consumption, reducing of reaction time and reaction temperature optimization by the microwave generator. The resulting compounds were analysed by HPLC chromatography and UV-VIS spectroscopy.

Evaluation of Microwave and Radia-Frequency Drying in the Acid Hydrolysis of Biomass

This paper describes the evaluation of the possible use of microwave and radio-frequency drying as a pretreatment step in the acid hydrolysis of corn stover. Both microwave and radio-frequency drying were significantly faster than conventional vacuum drying, and also resulted in less thermal degradation of the feedstock than usually occurs with conventional ambient pressure drying. The initial cost estimates indicate that microwave and radio-frequency drying should be economically competitive with vacuum drying.